Canning apples ( and other fruit)

Good Morning! A chilly 26 Degrees this morning so I figured I would keep my bones warm by the Cookstove and post  on the  Blog today.
I have had lots of people who wanted me to blog about Canning. There are so many variations when it comes to canning. 
Low acid foods need pressure canned ( beans, potatoes, corn etc)
Foods with a higher natural acidic content ( like peaches, apples, tomatoes( which are borderline) etc. can be canned with a water bath canner.
You can purchase a Water Bath canner at most any local store ( I hate to say Walmart, because I despise that place,, but hey if you gotta go there, so be it :) I honestly can not remember what mine cost.. maybe 20-30 dollars.
You will also need a canning Utensil set like this

http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Utensil-Set-Colors-Vary/dp/B001NNJ42I

this had everything you need to can safely without burning yourself.
Jar Grabber- for grabbing hot jars out of your canner
Magnet- for picking up hot canning lids and placing them on your jars
Funnel- for putting food and liquid into canning jars without making a complete Mess,
 plastic too-l to measure headspace on jar

 

OK , today I will talk about *CANNING APPLES FOR BAKING*.. peaches and pears are pretty much canned the exact same way, and at  the bottom of the blog, I will post the variations of sugar syrup and how much times the others need in the canner, as these things may be slightly different.


1. Get yourself some apples, whether its from an apple tree in your back yard or from a local market.. ( we have 5 apples trees that are not producing yet, so we usually do pick your own or a local market/farm). You can get a much better price picking your own and its a fun way to spend the day with the family!!!

2. STERLIZE JARS AND LIDS, this is very important as you want to eliminate germs bacteria dirt from the jars and then keep at that way. Fill up your canner about a little over half way and place on the stove heat on high.  Wash your Jars In hot hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place the jars in the canner of hot water . This will keep the sterlilized while you are tending to the apples.
Place the Lids and Rings, in a small pot of hot water *** BE SURE NOT TO LET THE WATER BOIL AS IT WILL RUIN THE LIDS* keep it at a small simmer or just below that.

3. Make your sugar syrup solution... This recipe calls for 4 cups water 2 cups sugar and 2 tbsp. Lemonjuice. place in a large pan and heat to a good simmer...

4. Peel and slice apples. I Have this apple slicer, nothing fancy, but it works wonderful, just place it on apple and push down,, :) these are only a couple bucks..

 



4. Once you all your apples peeled and sliced ( I would say probably about 3 apples per quart jar?) place them in the sugar syrup so they are in a nice single layer ( ok I kinda stuff mine in there, just make sure they have room to move around and are covered in the syrup.) Let simmer for 5 minutes...


5. Take your jars out of the canner using your jar grabbers and line up on a towel, Place funnel on top of a jar and fill with hot apples.. Make sure you pack them in there good, without squishing them.

6. Ladel the hot syrup over the apples leaving 1" headspace,, remove air bubbles from jars using a flat tool of some sort.. wipe the rim of the jar with a clean towel and place the lid and ring on jar.

 

 

 

 7. Place jars in Canner of Boiling water ( it should be close to boiling at this point) making sure this is 1-2" of water covering the jars,, place lid on canner. Process Apples 20 Minutes in boiling water bath.. Remove from heat, set on towel and listen for the *PING* sounds, it means your jars are sealing! Do not touch jars or move them for about 24 hours,, then you can push on the top of the lid to see if the jars sealed. if it makes a popping sound when you push on it, it did not seal. you can place these in the fridge and use them in the next week.

These apples are great for Pie, apple crisp or apple crumble!
*NOTE: Granny Smith apples are recommended for this recipe, but I have used all sorts.


VARIATIONS:

Peaches
Sugar Syrup:
 light syrup2 1/4 sugar to 5 1/4 cups water,
 medium syrup 3 1/4 sugar to 5 cups water
Process time Pints 20 minutes Quarts 25

Pears
same as peaches :)

If I wasn't clear on something please feel free to comment with any questions or suggestions.